On August 8, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) published two notices in the Federal Register regarding fees for dairy import licenses.

The first notice, titled “Adjustment of Appendices Under the Dairy Tariff-Rate Quota Import Licensing Regulation for the 2019 Tariff-Rate Quota Year,” announces the transfer of amounts for certain dairy products from the historical license category to the lottery license category pursuant to the Dairy Tariff-Rate Quota Import Licensing regulations, 7 CFR part 6, for the 2019 quota year.

The second notice, titled “Assessment of Fees for Dairy Import Licenses for the 2020 Tariff-Rate Import Quota Year,” announces the same fee amount for 2019, $300, to be charged for the 2020 tariff-rate quota (TRQ) year for each license issued to a person or firm by the Department of Agriculture. The fee authorizes the importation of certain dairy products that are subject to tariff-rate quotas set forth in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) of the United States.

Import licenses are required for companies importing dairy products subject to the TRQ. Under this system, imports up to a specified amount are subject to a low-tariff rate and all those exceeding the quota receive a higher tariff rate. USDA uses the annual licenses to calculate the amount of a given product entering the United States and subsequently determines the tariff rate for imported product.

For more information, contact Beth Hughes, IDFA senior director of international affairs.